Cop grip holder for a weaver&#39;s shuttle



June 5, 1962 H. T. SIMMONS COP GRIP HOLDER FOR A WEAVER'S SHUTTLE Filed Nov. 25, 1959 H Il NvNToR.

ENRY I'MMONS BY 9 A AT TORNEY United States Patent O M 3,037,530 COP GRIP HOLDER FOR A WEAVERS SHUTTLE Henry Thomas Simmons, 167 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles, N.Y. Filed Nov. 23, 1959, Ser. No. 854,670 5 Claims. (Cl. 139-198) This invention relates to weaving apparatus, and more particularly to a cop grip holder for a weavers shuttle. This application is a continuation-impart of my application Serial Number 539,106, led October 7, 1955, now U.S. Patent No. 2,914,095, for a Cop Bobbin and Cop Grip Holder.

Formerly, a weavers shuttle was provided having a grooved cavity therein into which was inserted a cop of yarn wound on a bobbin plug in a manner whereby the turns of yarn of the cop would iit the grooves of the cavity of the shuttle. The yarn was unwound from the inside of 4the cop at the rear thereof and travelled .through an eye formed in the shuttle as the shuttle travelled through the loom. It is pointed out that the inside rear end of the cop is shaped somewhat like the inside of a cone, whereby as lthe yarn was unwound the cone would have a tendency to collapse so that several turns of yarn would form a knot. This condition is known as slugging when the knot reaches the eye of the shuttle and stops, causing the yarn to break. Slugging is caused, in addition to the collapsing of the cop, by the looseness of the cop itself as it is contained in the cavity of the shuttle. Firstly, the cop is retained in lthe cavity by the attaching of the bobbin plug therein.V Secondly, as the picker stick of the loom strikes the shuttle a hammer-like blow to send the shuttle across the loom, the impact of the yblow causes the cop to break up and lie loosely in the cavity. Thus, slugging, with much waste of yarn and time, is the result; with the further disadvantage that the Weaver must remove the damaged cop and replace it with a new one.

It is therefore a main object of this invention to provide a cop grip holder for a weavers shuttle wherein the yarn is held under constant and even tension throughout the length ofthe cop.

It is another main object of this invention to provide that the yarn to be unwound from the outside of the front end of the cop, rather than from the inside of the rear end of the cop.

Another object of this invention is to provide for constant and adjustable tensioning of the yarn after it is unwound from the cop, and as it passes to the eye of the shuttle.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for quickly engaging and disengaging the cop grip holder in the shuttle.

In carrying out the objects of the invention there is provided a cop grip holder for having placed therein a cop of yarn, and which exerts a gentle even pressure on the entire cop when the holder is placed in a shuttle. There is also provided a spring lock in the shuttle for retaining the cop grip holder therein, whereby the yarn is caused to unwind from the cop from the outside front end thereof and pass through tensioning means to the eye of the shuttle.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts herein fully described and claimed, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE l is an isomeric view of a weavcrs shuttle and a cop grip holder having a cop of yarn therein -ready for insertion into the shuttle. v

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the shuttle, in part, with parts cut away to show the spring lock and yarn tensioning means.

In accordance with the present invention, FIGURE 1 shows a shuttle 10 having a cavity 11 formed therein by the sides 18 of the shuttle for receiving a cop of yarn. A pair of stops 13 is formed at the rear end of the cavity 11 for retaining a cop grip holder, as will appear. An opening 12 is formed through the bottom of the shuttle near the front end thereof, which will be more fully explained. An eye 14 is formed through the side of the shuttle near the front end of the shuttle, through which the yarn travels as the shuttle moves through the loom. A groove 15 is conventionally formed in the side of the shuttle to `further guide the yarn therefrom into the fabric.

A cop grip holder 20 is illustrated in FIGURE 1 ready Lfor insertion into the cavity 11 of the shuttle 10. The cop grip holder may be described as having a substantially tubular body forming an interior 21. The body of the -holder 20 is not continuous, but is formed with edges 25 forming an opening therebetween. Stops 24 `are formed on one end of the holder for being slidably engaged under the stops 13 on 4the shuttle when the holder is placed in the cavity y11. A large tab 26 and small tabs 27 are `formed at the other end of the holder 20 for locking it in place in the shuttle, as will appear.

A cop of yarn 22 is wound on a bobbin plug 23 and the cop and bobbin are inserted into the top grip holder Z0 as shown in FIGURE l. The end 43 of the yarn wound on the cop 22 unwinds from the outside of the front end of the cop 22.

With reference to FIGURES l and 2, the locking means for the cop grip holder 20 in the cavity 11 of the shuttle 10 will be fully understood. A spring lock 3i) in the form of a plate member with a central opening formed therethrough is mounted axially slidable in the cavity 1,1 of the shuttle in the front end thereof. Locking means for the cop grip holder 20 is provided in the form of notches 28 and 29 formed in the spring lock 30. The notches 281and 29 are aligned respectivelypwith the tabs 26 and 27 of the cop grip holder 20 when the holder is in place in the cavi-ty of the shuttle. A pair of rods 31 are located in the bottom of the cavity 11, held in place by lugs 32 or the like yfastened in the cavity, and are placed through suitable holes in the spring lock 30 so that the spring lock 30 may `slide forwardly and backwardly on the rods 31. A compression spring 33 is disposed around each of the rods 31 between the front end of the cavity 11 and the spring lock 30 to normally urge the spring lock 30 forwardly towards the cavity 11 and against the lugs 32, which form a limit stop for the spring lock 30. Guide plates 34 at the top of the body of the shuttle 10 also guide the spring lock 30 when it is moved, as will appear. A plate 36 forms the end of the cavity 11, and is provided with a yarn gate 35 in the form of a notch through which the end 43 of the yarn -travels as it unwinds from the cop 22. A tubular yarn guide 37 extends rearwardly from the yarn gate 35 towards the cavityll, and through which the yarn end 43 passes on its way to the eye 14 of the shuttle.

A spring loaded yarn tensioner 38 is mounted on a suitable pivot P, and is constantly urged against the yarn gate by the urging of a spring 42 Iacting against an extension 41 of the tensioner 38. The end 39 of the ltensioner 38 is engaged by an adjusting screw 40 mounted through a threaded bushing 16 in the opening 17 of the 4shut-tle v10. Movement of the adjusting screw 40 determines the size of the opening at the yarn gate 35 and the tension of the spring 42 for controlling the tension placed on the yarn as it passes to the eye 14 of the shuttle 10. It will be seen that in this case, movement of the screw 40 inwardly will reduce the tension applied on the yarn at the yarn gate 35 by increasing the gap between the 4tensioner 38 and the yarn gate 35, and conversely.

Patented June 5, 1962` The operation of the invention is as follows:

A cop 22 of yarn wound on a bobbin plug 23 is placed through the rear end of the cop grip holder 20 as shown in FIGURE l. At this time the cop grip holder 20 exerts little pressure on the cop 22. The holder 29 is then placed in the cavity 11 of the shuttle 10 by tilting the rear end of ythe holder 20 downwardly and sliding the holder so that the stops 24 thereof are engaged slidingly under the stops 13 of the shuttle.

The following procedure is followed to lock the holder 20 in place. The shuttle 10 is placed on any suitable table or bench, not shown, so that an upstanding pin or the like, not shown, protrudes through the opening 12 and slightly into the cavity 11 to engage against the spring lock 30. A rearward sliding movement of the shuttle on the table by the operator causes the spring lock Sil to be retracted towards the front of the cavity 11 against the urging of the springs 33 due to the fact that the pin on the table is engaged against the spring lock 30. The

operator then pushes thel cop grip holder and the inserted cop of yarn into the cavity r11 of the shuttle 10 by pressing downwardly against the tabs 27. At the same time, the operator permits the shuttle 10 to move in a forwardly direction so that the spring lock 3G is released and is urged backwardly toward the normal position against limit stops 32 by the urging of the springs 33. It will be seen that the tab 26 will occupy the notch 28 in the spring lock 30, while the tabs 27 will occupy the notches 29. Following insertion of the tabs 26 and 27 into their respective notches 28 and 29, the operator releases the thumb pressure against the tabs 27, permitting the upturned ends thereof to latch behind the body plate of the spring lock 30, whereby the cop grip holder 20 and the inserted cop 22 of yarn is securely locked in the cavity 11 of the shuttle. A conventional yarn hook is then inserted through the' eye 14 of the shuttle, past the yarn gate 35 and into the holder 20 for drawing the end 43 of the yarn out through the eye 14 of the shuttle, and the whole assembly is ready for use. It will be seen that all of the above procedure takes only a few seconds to complete, since the operator need only place the shuttle 10 on a table against a suitable pin, retract the spring lock 30, place the holder 20 with stops 24 under the stops 13 and press the front end of the holder and the tabs 27 in position in alignment with the notches 29, and release the shuttle and spring lock.

The cop grip holder 20 is removed from the cavity 11 of the shuttle 10 merely by reversing the above procedure.

Many important features and advantages of the invention are now apparent. Firstly, the bobbin plug 23 and the cop 22 of yarn are held securely and positively in position by the cop grip holder 20 when the holder 20 is placed in the cavity 11 of the shuttle. This is because the sides 18 of the shuttle gently press against the body of the holder 20 with a constant and even pressure which tends to close the edges of the holder together and thus gently hold the cop of yarn. The bobbin plug 23 is also firmly held by this same pressure, obviating the need for complex latch mechanisms therefor. Thus, as the yarn 43 is unwound from the cop 22, the individual turns of yarn unwind under the same even tension due to the above described pressure exerted against the cop 22. In order to avoid any tendency of backlash as the yarn 43 unwinds, the spring-tensioned yarn tensioner 38 at the yarn gate also maintains an even and constant pressure against the yarn 43 as it moves toward the eye 14 of the shuttle 10. The yarn guide 37 reduces any whipping motion of the yarn 43 due to high speed unwinding as the shuttle 10 moves through the loom, not shown.

Secondly, the cop 22, bobbing plug 23, and cop grip holder 20 are positively and securely held in position within the cavity 11 of the shuttle by a simple spring lock 30 which has only one moving part-the spring lock 30 itself. This feature is important. When the picker stick of the loom strikes the end of the shuttle 10 to drive the shuttle through the loom, the impact of the blow generally tends to dislodge ythe cop 22 from position or to at least break up the cop and cause the yarn to snarl and backlash. Inasmuch as the cop 22 of the present invention is firmly held with the bobbin plug 23 in the cop grip holder 20, the cop can not move or become dislodged. Further, the cop can not be broken up because of the constant pressure exerted thereagainst by the squeezing action of the body of the holder 20. However, the holder 20 itself is the only movable element in the assembled shuttle and holder; and furthermore, can only move when the spring lock 30 is moved. Thus it is that, following the impact of the blow of the picker stick against the shuttle to drive the shuttle through the loom, the inertia of the cop grip holder 20 (with the inserted cop and bobbin plug) and the spring lock 30 may cause the holder 20 and lock 30 to slide slightly in the cavity 11 against the urging of the springs 33, which in turn return the holder 20 andthe lock 30 to their normal position in the cavity l1 of the shuttle 10 when the inertia is overcome. Therefore, with the cop and bobbin plug immovably held in the holder 20 and the whole being movable as an entity within the cavity of the shuttle, it is nearly impossible for the cop to become broken or dislodged from its proper position. Thirdly, it is seen that the yarn 43 is unwound from the outside front of -the cop 22. That is to say, the front end of the cop 22 appears as the outside of a cone, from which the yarn is unwound with far less tendency to snarl and form slugs.

Finally, the cop grip holder 20 with the inserted cop 22 and bobbin plug 23 is quickly and easily inserted or removed into or from the cavity of the shuttle 10. The only procedure required is to retract the spring lock 30, insert the cop grip holder 20, and release the spring lock 30, and conversely; retract the spring lock 30, remove the cop grip holder 20, and release the spring lock 30.

Thus it will become apparent that in carrying out the objects of this invention I have provided a cop grip holder and a shuttle in combination for a weaving machine whereby the holder comprises a substantially tubular body open along one side and closable to exert pressure constantly and continuously against a cop of yarn held therein, and wherein the shuttle comprises a body having sides defining a cavity formed therein and having a spring lock slidably disposed in one end of the cavity for locking the holder therein. This arrangement of the features of construction broadly provides a combination having the advantages set forth hereinabove, and whereby the yarn is unwound from the outside front of the cop.

One embodiment of the invention having been shown and described in detail, it is to be understood that modications may be made from time to time, and that the invention is to be construed only as `fairly falls within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In combination a weavers shuttle having sides forming a cavity, an eye `formed through one side of said shuttle, a spring lock slidably disposed in one end of said cavity and having an opening formed therethrough notches in said opening, and a cop grip holder comprising a substantially tubular body having an opening formed along one side thereof for gripping a cop of yarn, tabs formed at one end of said holder in alignment with the said notches in said spring lock when the holder is securely locked in position within the cavity, whereby the yarn is unwound from the outside front of the cop.

2. A cop grip holder for a weavers shuttle having a substantially tubular body open along one side for exerting a closing pressure on a cop of yarn therein when said holder is held in the cavity of a weavers shuttle, whereby the yarn is unwound from the outside front of the cop, and a spring lock slidably disposed in one end of said cavity to lock the holder securely in position within said cavity.

3. `In combination a weavers shuttle and a cop grip holder therefor; said shuttle having a cavity formed therein and a spring lock slidably disposed in one end of said cavity, notches formed through said spring lock, said holder having a substantially tubular body open along one side, tabs formed at one end of said holder, said holder being closable to exert pressure against a cop of yarn held therein when said holder is placed in the cavity of said shuttle and said tabs are engaged in the notches of said spring lock; whereby the yarn is unwound from the outside front of the cop.

4. A weavers shuttle and a cop grip holder therefor; said shuttle having a cavity formed therein and a spring lock with an opening Iformed therethrough slidably disposed in said cavity, a tensioned yarn gate inthe front end of said shuttle and a yarn eye formed through one side of said shuttle; said cop grip holder having a substantially tubular body defining a hollow interior having an opening along the side thereof, tabs formed at one `end of said holder for being received in the opening in said spring lock, a cop of yarn being heldin the interior of said holder,

the body of said holder being closable about the cop of 20 yarn to exert pressure thereagainst when said holder is disposed within the said cavity in said shuttle and locked therein by said spring lock.

5. The combination of a weavers shuttle anda cop grip holder; said holder comprising a substantially tubular body having an opening formed along one side thereof, said body being closable about a cop of yarn disposed therein when said holder is in said shuttle, a cavity Iformed in said shuttle for receiving said holder, slidable means disposed in one end of said shuttle for engaging one end of said holder, said means having an opening formed Itherethrough for receiving the yarn from the outside front of the cop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,278,034 Sergeson Sept. 3, 1918 2,914,095 Simmons Nov. 24, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 482,745 Germany Sept. 24, 1929 

